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Deer, Lily, and Smithsonian - UPDATE February 1, 2019

The deer was close outside the living room window and looked when it heard the nonhuman sound of the camera clicking. Satisfied, it went back to work.20190201 Deer

Lily had a moment of fame last month but was not named. I learned today that Lily and her yearlings Frannie, Frankie, and Francis were part of a Mississippi River 3-part documentary series that aired on December 5, 12, and 19 on Smithsonian Channel. They were in the first episode, the Headwaters, on December 5. I just got the 3 DVD’s of the series. Donna and I watched the first one last night with its many amazing wildlife scenes that included Lily and her yearlings venturing in and out of the deep rock den for a few minutes of the 1-hour episode. It was good filming by an experienced cameraman I’d worked with on a shoot some decades ago. I’m told the documentary will rerun at some point.

Seeing that documentary reminded me of Jean Michelle Cousteau snowmobiling to a den with me on March 22, 1984 to radio-collar and weigh old 641 and her cubs while someone filmed it for a Jacques Cousteau Mississippi River Special. 641 was only 19 at that time, but she went on to become the oldest bear in my study until Shadow recently beat her. 641 was killed by a hunter at the age of 29 ¾.

Thank you for all you do.Lynn Rogers, Biologist, Wildlife Research Institute and North American Bear Center

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